Paul Ellis's Blog, page 18

How to Get to the Front of the E2R Queue

“What do you do all day, Paul?”

You’d be surprised how often I am asked this question. It’s usually easier to tell people what I don’t do. I’m a writer, but I don’t set daily writing targets and I don’t do book tours.

So what do I do?

Every day I go digging in the treasure rooms of God’s word. When I discover diamonds and gems I share them with you.

I don’t see myself as a writer trying to find readers for my writing, but a treasure hunter finding treasure for my readers.

“Loo...

Why did God Hate Esau and Love Jacob?

God loves the whole world. He loves everyone – you, me, your neighbor. He loves presidents and prime ministers. He loves scandal-plagued clerics and drug-ridden athletes. He loves runaway dads and negligent mothers.

God loves everyone… except Esau.

As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” (Romans 9:13)

Why did God hate Esau?

He didn’t. God loved Esau. You may recall that Esau and Jacob were the grandsons of Abraham. Esau was a man’s man; Jacob was a mummy’s boy. Esau was ...

A Christmas Message from Paul

A year ago I asked a question. “Lord, I’ve been writing E2R for years. What’s next?”

It’s not that I was tired of telling people about grace; far from it. It’s just that blogging wasn’t as challenging as it used to be. I wanted to try something new.

The Lord answered my prayer with three new challenges.

The Grace Commentary was launched in March 2021. In hindsight, it was a no-brainer. I had been working on a commentary for years, I just didn’t realize it.

Building the commentar...

Why did Mary Find Favor with God?

Imagine God asked you to recruit the mother of the Messiah. Two women have been shortlisted, and you have been asked to pick the best one.

The first woman has an impeccable pedigree being descended from Aaron the high priest; the other is a nobody from the no-name town of Nazareth.

The first one is married to a highly-regarded priest; the other is a teenager engaged to a tradesman.

The first one will go down in history as “righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all th...

Are you Complementarian, Egalitarian, or Something Else?

Hi friends,

This week marks the first anniversary of the release of my book The Silent Queen: Why the Church Needs Women to Find their Voice. I just checked and I am surprised to find it is my highest-rated book on Amazon. Thank you!

To mark the anniversary, below is an extract from the book. Here I identify three views on women that you encounter in the church. Which one is yours? Tell me in the comments below.

One last thing: At the bottom of this article, you will find a world exclus...

Making Church Skits Cool Again

As a teenager, I was in the church drama team. It was cool.

On Fridays we’d rehearse, and on Sunday’s we’d perform. We were so good that we were invited to perform in other churches.

But were we that good?

In hindsight, I wonder if we were. I wonder if the invites came because the bar was low and because pastors were keen to have a drama team perform.

“Here’s 10 minutes of good Christian entertainment to keep the folks amused.”

I don’t mean to sound like a cynical ol’ coot, b...

Does Sin Hinder our Prayers?

Ever heard this one: “God is holy. If you have unconfessed sin in your life, he will not hear your prayers.”

It’s. Not. True.

If sin made God deaf, no sinner could be saved. They would pray the sinner’s prayer, but God wouldn’t hear them.

Pray all you like, but I’m not listening. Lalalala. I’ve got fingers in my ears.

Imagine if you had to confess all your sins before God would listen. Most people would die of old age before they were done! And there would be no guarantee you got...

Why Aren’t All Healed? (And Other Questions I’ve Been Asked)

I love a good question.

I love questions so much, I wrote a book full of them. What’s so great about questions? As I say in that book,

Questions are stepping stones to revelation and doorways to discovery. A good question can take you places. It can free you from unhealthy mindsets and set you on the path to wholeness and abundant living. A good question can change your life.

Sometimes my kids will ask a question that makes me marvel. I think, how did they come up with that?

I g...

How Does a Husband Act Like a Head?

Here’s a line you may have heard: “God has ordained the husband to be the head of the marriage, which means he’s in charge.”

The first bit is biblical; the second bit is not.

Headship, in a Biblical sense, has nothing to do with superiority or being in charge. The Greek philosophers taught that men were to rule their homes like lords of the manner, and some of the Church Fathers bought into that. But Jesus and the Apostles said no such thing.

Do you want a godly and blessed marriage...

Introducing JesusScripts.com

I blame Covid.

On account of lockdowns, my kids could no longer attend youth group. I had to step up, and fill the gap. But I am no youth leader, and my Bible classes were boring.

It didn’t help that there was a big age gap between my youngest and the oldest. What worked for small kids, didn’t work for big kids, and vice versa.

I was stumped. How could I teach my kids about Jesus in a way that was fun and engaging for all?

Answer: Jesus Scripts.

I took the stories of Jesus and...